international in the very heart of. more targeted terror in damascus a bomb explodes in a busy square taking thirteen lives and wounding dozens in a second such attack as many dates. america's war on corruption in afghanistan ends up beating the odds and drug cartels examinations emerge that washington has been sharing kabul with billions of dollars. you isn't working at jobless rates reach record highs especially among young europeans who are abandoning their home countries to make ends meet.

world news and comment around the clock this is r t i'm carrie johnston. a powerful blast has rocked the heart of the syrian capital killing at least thirteen people and wounding dozens more explosion comes just twenty four hours after another deadly attack in central damascus targeting the prime minister a local correspondent. witnessed the blast and told us what he saw. it was only something like one minute or two minutes away from it when i passed through the area the big explosion destroyed most of the historic square which is called maggi in the middle of the nastiest it's very close and. building of the mystery of frontiers i have seen that did by the spreading wall around i have seen with no heads and they have seen how the. rushed inside the square from everywhere how the claws did this to close and how the security came to.

see how people were crying. and weeping over their destroyed properties all around the area if you compare it with the attack on prime minister convoy yesterday you can see many similarities previous. to that was targeting the prime minister but it. kinda garden and the school and today. it's very crowded square it's full of people every time the one who did move was doing the same to the two placing. exactly that this is. only sleeping and this has only civilians and this is the same way that happened with all. the way of doing business and doing bombings on the who writes for britain's guardian newspaper believes the rebels apparent terror tactics should send alarm

signals to western nations. quite clearly that their aim is to spread terror amongst the population in damascus to terrorize civilians and it's absolutely shameful that these people are being backed by my country the u.k. by france and other western powers these are terrorist attacks let's call them what they are they haven't been condemned by william hague francois hollande or john kerry i mean i think that's absolutely appalling to see if these are taking place in tallahassee riyadh or anywhere else in the country which was a western i mean they would be roundly condemned but they're not and it's quite appalling that these so-called rebels with western help trying to bomb our way to in syria killing innocent civilians spreading terror among some population and i think that the likes of william hague who got blood on my hands i'm afraid will some of syria's refugees have found a new home in russia's south what's our report online r.t. dot com. i am from. c.

n n b a she says another body. syria or syria in arabic. brought him into the war beginning far from on the skirt of. the syrian woman you are. trying to protect her clearly. there. was no motive other cause of. my name. i'm planning to stay in russia. to build new life in russia here. millions of dollars have been handed out by the u.s. to afghanistan throughout the past decade in exchange for loyalty present cause i

confirm the regular payments but the detail on how kabul spends the cash i took account looks at the american way of dealing with the region's booming corruption. both u.s. and afghan officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to the new york times and said that for many years the cia had paid tens of millions of dollars in what they say was ghost money to the office of president karzai the afghan government has received billions of dollars in u.s. taxpayers money but the officials say that the secret cash went to fuel corruption in the country the cia apparently delivers the cash every month in suitcases backpacks and plastic shopping bags the official said much of the money goes to paying off warlords and politicians many of whom have ties to the drug trade and in some cases the taliban the result of that appears to be that the agency empowers the same networks that american diplomats on law enforcement agents say they're trying to dismantle president karzai was asked about the ghost money you. get he

basically dismissed the payments as no big deal saying those are monthly small amounts used for various purposes as the cia declines to comment another u.s. official has been quoted as saying the biggest source of corruption in afghanistan was the united states afghan officials quoted in this new york times report said a number of senior officials in the afghan national security council are individually on the cia's payroll there was an interesting story with the administrative chief counsel mohammad. ali he was arrested in two thousand and ten in connection with the sprawling american led investigation that tied together afghan. taliban financing and the opium trade president karzai heading released within hours and the cia helped persuade the obama administration to back off its anti-corruption push possibly because they didn't want the cia connection

discovered in alleged corruption scheme because that would be a story of a dog chasing its tail in washington. for america's money of course comes from want to world's biggest defense budget and he will come pay richard back says as long as it continues to swell americans will fall into poverty. it's really amazing when you look at the cia operations in afghanistan which really began that in two thousand and one million nine hundred seventy nine and the one nine hundred eighty s. the cia largest operation and entire history was carried out in afghanistan and the billions and billions of dollars that have flowed and yet today in two thousand and thirteen afghanistan ranked exactly last so it really indicates what about the corrupting influence that the cia interventionists head over all of these years and continues to have today and they're spending

a vast sums of money the real the us military budget this year overall be over a trillion dollars and yet we have faith in the united states virtually half nearly forty percent of the population according to the government itself is now either living in poverty or as low income and the interest of the people have been sacrificed and the altar of militarism. well media reports say this ghost of money work has been ending up in the wrong hands even in the hands of organized criminals in kabul what do you think of the situation your say dot com we have our site where you can vote there you go to a whopping eighty two percent say it's all about bribery to achieve u.s. goals or less right down to seven percent so it's all about a secret up to corrupt the taliban and equally well nearly equal say sixty five percent just one percent differentiating those two floating terrorist with counterfeit cash for multi purpose aid to help afghans so hardly any change at all this out please do keep your votes coming in we want to hear what you have to say.

now europe's latest unemployment numbers are in and they don't make good reading the rate went up across most of the european union in march according to figures from the u.s. that on that you have to see here look the figures are disappointing to say the least and rising year by year with spain and greece by far the worst affected in greece look right at the top the well the numbers an eye watering twenty seven percent while spain is not far behind both have more than one in four people unemployed right now that's for young people it's much worse the goblets rate there is more than double the national figure well here's

a test report now on why it takes more than just numbers to see the true extent of the damage. the unemployment rate in the years old has recently reached a record twelve percent and for those aged twenty five and below in countries like spain and greece that number is this high is more than fifty percent with very little signs of any economic improvement and for those who are looking for a job that search is no longer just about trying to find work many are now trying to leave their home countries. let me caloric policy a biology graduate from italy now working in a show in brussels and the situation in italy was actually awful because the only thing i was able to get is a really short contract for like free now for six months with absolutely no possibility of growing out in an industry or in the laboratory anything most of the unpaid and really think of your future he says it wasn't

a walk in the park in beijing either as many companies require working knowledge of both french and dutch a barrier that may be hard to overcome but perhaps still more attractive for some the going back home i read. in two thousand and twelve. and the person the person of young people who emigrated from italy and grew up by thirty forty percent in two thousand and twelve i really don't know what will be interesting for you and it's not just e.u. citizens feeling the pinch foreigners would come to europe to seek new opportunities starting their own businesses and building their lives have now will also change their minds freds iana this meant leaving greece and going all the way back to her native ecuador and while one sickness was the initial reason for the move she has no regrets about making that decision six thousand feet off the island

and many foreigners decided to leave grace and move to countries like germany and switzer. and but the greeks who stayed behind are saying that the situation is really difficult thing for instance servicemen he used to get one and a half thousand euros on that page just one hundred out place has been open for two years even though still new i believe we have very good prospects for the future is there something she says just isn't possible and yet right now to trend look at the figures in countries like ireland some people argue that a whole generation has left and perhaps for good with general rule. i don't think so i rather stay here for a long time does so sylvia i t brussels. well that crisis engulfing here up to maybe starting to literally cost lives i could then expand the may just study say that as many as ten thousand people have committed suicide due to financial good

well david stuck clear of oxford university whose research in the impact of austerity economics on public health says politicians are risking more than they realise what we've seen in studying recessions over the past century and the focus on the present crisis is that recessions hurts but when politicians respond with deep cuts to vital social supports they can turn those recessions weevil in the worst case we see greeks after rate cut its malaria prevention budgets we saw the return of outbreaks of the country kept under control for the past four decades you seem to be impacted spike by over two hundred percent at a time when h o p budget was caught similarly we've seen across europe austerity produced series of attacks from suicide to foreign access to health care to tuberculosis outgroups and even can get be so far europe's leaders have been denial about the human costs very policies that have been pursued across europe and sued

here in north america but this question recently passed. what we need to do is take into account the help because it's had austerity but run it like any other drug trial it would have been discontinued because of its side of. europe's human rights court has ruled that ukraine acted illegally by jailing its former prime minister thanks in the program we'll look at whether the decision could change any of the two missing because incarceration plus. as extra medics are shipped into guantanamo to deal with the worsening hunger strike that psychiatric expert tells us why there is only one solution to the prisoners protest all that after the. world. since innovation called the list of elements from around russia

we've got the future covered. about international airport in the very heart of moscow.

welcome back. u.k. it could be lighting up a military return to the persian gulf countries for decades after closing its string of bases in the region the inferential the british think tank made the forecast cited the upcoming troop withdrawal from afghanistan strong commercial banks with gulf monarchies and the flammable situation in middle east as a reason for the shift but there are fears that such a move will further destabilize the troubled region there's plenty of oil in our expense. ri c. is a world renowned to defense think tank that credited with really influencing government defense policy so these recommendations and what they're talking about in this paper to be taken lightly the paper talked about the fact that it might be britain might be considering stepping up its military presence in the gulf states

especially next year after they pull out from afghanistan now that would be quite a departure from forty years ago when they actually shut down a string of defense bases in the gulf states and they say that might be wise considering that the rest taking place in the arab states at the moment they might want to preempt trouble if they're based in the gulf states at the moment on the other hand there is of course the problem of some of the human rights records of some of the countries that they might be dealing with that might not be too good for britain's image and of course talking about returning to the middle east in terms of military presence might force some observers to talk about every time to imperial powers and imperial aspirations so to talk about britain's presence in the gulf states. i'm joined in the studio by chris bambery he's a political analyst chris the recent paper says that increased military presence

like of would be justified considering the instability that we're witnessing at the moment in the region what do you think was the british military presence in the gulf could only instability rather stabilize what is the instability in the gulf states the movement internally to the gulf states what we're talking about is the democracy movements we've seen. is a pretty good interview against a democracy movement demanding human rights and the nation nor i think the real and she wouldn't talk which ability to run and what we're seeing at the moment so i think so from sanctions against iran. you is also an american would build up which is engaged in in the persian gulf which is deliberately as part of attempt to build put pressure on the really regime what about the question of money we know that britain is very strapped for cash the arab states are swimming in it if you've got a cash cow when you don't get well they're all farmers have been. begging bowl

ribbon potential asking for money selling anything they can return for it's actually the very core ties between the united arab emirates and some forty million pounds building what once was the trade between the two qatar is the biggest supplier of that your gas i think they'd be killed and developing not to ease a dependence on russia because of tension between britain and russia as well but i think we have got to put it in the context of this is a return to us of an imperial policy which has been spearheaded by the united states with britain truly behind and therefore decision to increase any military presence in the gulf as it was instability chris bambery thank you very much for your comments in december the u.k. chief of defense staff step after afghanistan the gulf will become the u.k.'s main military effort and it looks like this report is proving that theory correct especially if according to receive a lot of money to be made in the gulf states for the british government. imagery is

far from over for the survivors of the best hour block. on the big western firms they were making clothes for pay up to compensate the victims as we report online. and often sought spot report on those affected by last month's acts on oil spill and they're still talks the trouble in the neighborhood. on our website. the arrest and imprisonment of ukraine's former prime minister unit in the shanker has been ruled illegal by the european court of human rights the judges dismissed tomasz in his complaint of physical must. treatment when in custody she's serving seven years for abuse in office over gas deals with russia. has been on the case from the very beginning finding lawyers of you to believe that this decision by the european court of human rights will see her walk free especially after her plea for parole last week was turned down there was a certain breath of hope when one of the politicians of the former interior

minister was released on a presidential pardon several weeks ago but this is not the case of too much because on the one hand the current ruling establishment in kiev they want to be friends with the european union they are aspiring for european integration but on the other hand they of course see that is the biggest political enemy and it's far more comfortable for them to see her remain behind bars and they also have this one trick up their sleeve can always say that look you are ruling the decision to convict her of seven years of prison as illegitimate but look there are two cases currently ongoing against sir one of them includes association to a murder of a deputy in nine hundred ninety six so it's interesting to see where it goes from here but we already have the reaction from the ruling party which said that the decision by the european court for human rights may not become valid grounds for releasing tymoshenko in fact this is been a bone of contention between europe and for for some time we remember last year when you've hosted the football championship the euro two thousand and twelve some

of the european officials boycotted the tournament because of the machine go and her case the question is whether a key if will be willing to kneel to this pressure by europe given the latest statements by the ruling party doesn't seem that this time it will bow down to the pressure as well. sure ski there now the owner of a nightclub in central russia where more than one hundred fifty people died in a file most four years ago has been sentenced to nearly ten years behind bars another six people be jailed for four years movie cheap foreign script and suspended from his job is that the lame horse not covered in the two thousand and nine began when fireworks were set off inside the overcrowded building flames quickly took hold of the wicked fittings on the walls and seemingly any victims trapped or crushed in the need to state. a quick look now at some other world news making headlines this hour. to libya where gunmen have surrounded the justice ministry in tripoli there demanding the dismissal of all members of colonel gadhafi

former regime from government its trucks carrying anti aircraft guns up in the building a separate siege of the foreign ministry also according to expiration members together is now. crowds of palestinians join the funeral michel of those killed and it was really in stride while driving a motorcycle. while the men were also reported to have been injured in the israeli military claim michelle was involved in extensive terrorist activity during a recent rocket attack on the southern israeli city of and that is the first deadly airstrike on palestinian territory since we've reached a truce with militants last. medical staff reinforcements have been drafted into guantanamo bay as fears grow over the health of inmates being on hunger strike for almost three months now some forty medics arrived at a camp where one hundred detainees according to officials are fusing food in

protest of mistreatment and the indefinite detention of prisoners lawyers though claim a number of hunger strikers is much less well than twenty the protesters have lost so much weight and being force fed and five need extra medical treatment most of the guantanamo detainees are being held without charge. when hoffa been cleared for transfer lease concha professor tony cooper has things no medical attention health and then this new cell phone to stump address in the months when one or two people go on a hunger strike it's an extreme act they're taking the risk of their life and they have a message that they want to deliver they exhausted all of the possibilities to communicate and have a voice when one hundred people or twenty some people even go on a hunger strike you've got a major problem with the harsh conditions and the end the answer is to settle with the prisoners and improve the conditions instead they're playing a stream we danger the military is playing extremely dangerous game of letting them starve to death and then the question of whether they should be force fed or not

which is not really the real question the real question is why not address their demands. but next breaking a set of events. most people in the western world would agree that having laws that officially create second class citizens is totally unacceptable we can look at the way jews were treated in nazi germany or blackstar in apartheid in south africa and the slavery jim crow era as in the usa as examples of legally dividing society by necessity i think most people he you with their modern sensibilities would find these practices

to be bob baer american backwards but my question is that why is there to this day officially sanctioned second class citizens in certain e.u. countries or to be more accurate i should say non-citizen residents of the two million people in latvia around three hundred thousand of them are considered non-citizen residents who can neither vote nor hold public office these non-citizens are russian speakers of various ethnic backgrounds whose children also by birth bearer of the non-citizen status not happy being on the bad side of apartheid the non-citizens have logically decided to vote for their own parliament because they can't elect to participate in the left field what even if the parliament has no power whatsoever it will be their chip shine light on the issue which the mainstream media has been keeping quiet for years you know you'd think that people would be outraged over segregation but it happens to russians and russian speakers it's just not cool or hip or trendy or convenient enough for the mainstream media to take notice but that's just my opinion.

about international and world in the very heart of moscow. to live on one hundred thirty three bucks a month for food i should try it because you know how fabulous bad luck i got so. i mean. i know that i'm still really messed up. in the all clear and so

personally. the. worst sugarloaf in the white house of a. radio guy and for a minute from a kick off if i want to quote did you ever achieve anything like this i'm told. hey guys welcome to break in the set i'm abby martin and environment where real investigative journalism is in serious decline it's important to recognize those who go to great lengths to uncover the uncomfortable truths and that's where the scales work is so crucial is the same journalist who blew open blackwater's criminal kobol and now he's delving into even more dangerous territory to expose the scope of u.s. covert wars with his new book an upcoming documentary film called dirty wars take

a look. hard to say when the story began greetings from kabul afghanistan this was supposed to be the front. line in the war on terror with the name of this military but i knew i was missing a story there was another war in the shadows. and i agreed. to see the two men in the guest house for the first people. because even in other words if you saw the u.s. forces take the bullets out of the bodies. were these men that stormed into the woods home and why would they go to such horrifying likes to cover up their actions so to talk about the evolution of the.